Research
How Research Shaped the Final Solution....
By designing Trip Easy, an all-in-one travel planning app, I aimed to help users discover destinations, customize itineraries, make bookings, and track expenses, thereby eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps.
How might we simplify travel planning by bringing itineraries, bookings, and budgets into one seamless experience?
Trip Easy
Role
UX Research, Design
and User Testing
Timeline
3 weeks
Problem
Ideation
Low Fidelity Prototype and Iterations
High Fidelity Prototype
Planning trips today is fragmented. This fragmentation leads to stress, poor planning, and lack of financial control.
Users jump between multiple apps for flights, hotels, and activities.
I conducted research with travelers aged 19–30, including international students and working professionals. Their stories revealed common struggles like time, organization, and flexibility and these insights became the foundation of my design decisions.
To identify gaps in existing travel planning apps , I conducted a competitive analysis of platforms like WanderLog, Trip Advisor, and Traveleva.
Itinerary planning happens in spreadsheets or chat groups.
Budget tracking tools are separate (Splitwise, notes apps).
Name
Itinerary
Customization
Travel Suggestions
Budget Tracking
Categorization of Vacation
Local
Recommendations
WanderLog
Trip Advisor
Traveleva
Readability
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.
Competitive Analysis
Surveys
User Interviews
Information Architecture
I conducted interviews with 2 users, which helped me create the following empathy map.
Number of responses
Shows scattered approach followed by people while planning a vacation.
Many travelers track expenses, but in different ways.
Design Decision:
Introduced template itineraries for users who prefer preplanned vacations, while also offering drag-and-drop customization to support adaptive and spontaneous travelers.
Design Decision:
Added an expense tracker so that users can monitor costs without relying on any extra application.
Design Decision:
Built a discovery feature with curated attractions.
Integrated booking options for stays/transport.
Designed budget tool as supporting features.
36
What best describes your travel planning approach?
How do you usually manage your budget while traveling?
What difficulties do you encounter while planning a trip?
Thinks
I hope to have a smooth and efficient way of booking my trip.
I hope to have some way to stick to my budget.
I wish to see all the options I have, be it for travel, staying, or even deciding my itinerary.
Feels
Worried that there is no confirmation provided at the end of bookings.
Disappointed about not knowing the best local places to visit while on a trip.
Frustrated that he has to go through multiple sites just to find a good destination spot and itinerary for the same.
Does
Browse through various sites to find the perfect itinerary.
Searches online to find the best deals on travel and stays.
Spend a lot of time researching the travel destination that fits exactly according to his needs.
Look on Reddit and various other sites for good food and travel place recommendations.
Says
I need to know the best time to visit that particular place.
I usually have a budget in mind but am not able to stick to it.
Confirmation should be provided after booking travel or a stay.
When traveling with family, the trip is always pre-planned, but when with friends, the trip is spontaneous.
Through market and user research, I uncovered the real pain points and the exact problem travelers face today.
Book Accommodation
Accommodation Details
Confirmation Page
Itinerary Page
Destination Details Page
Onboarding Page
Book Travel
Travel Details
Payment Page
Food Recommendations Page
Explore Destinations Page
Add Expense Page
Budget Tracker Page
Saved Destinations Page
A confirmation page was introduced to allow users to review and verify their details before completing payment.
Duplicate data that had already been collected during onboarding.
Users lacked an option to download and save their itinerary for offline use.
The ‘More’ button lacked clarity for users.
Reflection
Working on Trip Easy helped me strengthen my design thinking right from identifying gaps to validating real user needs. This project reminded me that what feels simple while designing can easily overwhelm the user user trying to make decisions.
Name
Itinerary
Customization
Travel Suggestions
Budget Tracking
Categorization of Vacation
Local
Recommendations
WanderLog
Trip Advisor
Traveleva
Readability
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.
Research
Research
How Research Shaped the Final Solution....
How Research Shaped the Final Solution....
By designing Trip Easy, an all-in-one travel planning app, I aimed to help users discover destinations, customize itineraries, make bookings, and track expenses, thereby eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps.
By designing Trip Easy, an all-in-one travel planning app, I aimed to help users discover destinations, customize itineraries, make bookings, and track expenses, thereby eliminating the need to juggle multiple apps.
How might we simplify travel planning by bringing itineraries, bookings, and budgets into one seamless experience?
How might we simplify travel planning by bringing itineraries, bookings, and budgets into one seamless experience?
Trip Easy
Trip Easy
Role
Role
UX Research, Design
and User Testing
UX Research, Design
and User Testing
Timeline
Timeline
3 weeks
3 weeks
Problem
Problem
Ideation
Ideation
Low Fidelity Prototype and Iterations
Low Fidelity Prototype and Iterations
High Fidelity Prototype
High Fidelity Prototype
Planning trips today is fragmented. This fragmentation leads to stress, poor planning, and lack of financial control.
Planning trips today is fragmented. This fragmentation leads to stress, poor planning, and lack of financial control.
Users jump between multiple apps for flights, hotels, and activities.
Users jump between multiple apps for flights, hotels, and activities.
I conducted research with travelers aged 19–30, including international students and working professionals. Their stories revealed common struggles like time, organization, and flexibility and these insights became the foundation of my design decisions.
I conducted research with travelers aged 19–30, including international students and working professionals. Their stories revealed common struggles like time, organization, and flexibility and these insights became the foundation of my design decisions.
To identify gaps in existing travel planning apps , I conducted a competitive analysis of platforms like WanderLog, Trip Advisor, and Traveleva.
To identify gaps in existing travel planning apps , I conducted a competitive analysis of platforms like WanderLog, Trip Advisor, and Traveleva.
Itinerary planning happens in spreadsheets or chat groups.
Itinerary planning happens in spreadsheets or chat groups.
Budget tracking tools are separate (Splitwise, notes apps).
Budget tracking tools are separate (Splitwise, notes apps).
Name
Name
Itinerary
Customization
Itinerary
Customization
Travel Suggestions
Travel Suggestions
Budget Tracking
Budget Tracking
Categorization of Vacation
Categorization of Vacation
Local
Recommendations
Local
Recommendations
WanderLog
WanderLog
Trip Advisor
Trip Advisor
Traveleva
Traveleva
Readability
Readability
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.
Competitive Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Surveys
Surveys
User Interviews
User Interviews
Information Architecture
Information Architecture
I conducted interviews with 2 users, which helped me create the following empathy map.
I conducted interviews with 2 users, which helped me create the following empathy map.
Number of responses
Number of responses
Shows scattered approach followed by people while planning a vacation.
Shows scattered approach followed by people while planning a vacation.
Many travelers track expenses, but in different ways.
Many travelers track expenses, but in different ways.
Design Decision:
Introduced template itineraries for users who prefer preplanned vacations, while also offering drag-and-drop customization to support adaptive and spontaneous travelers.
Design Decision:
Introduced template itineraries for users who prefer preplanned vacations, while also offering drag-and-drop customization to support adaptive and spontaneous travelers.
Design Decision:
Added an expense tracker so that users can monitor costs without relying on any extra application.
Design Decision:
Added an expense tracker so that users can monitor costs without relying on any extra application.
Design Decision:
Built a discovery feature with curated attractions.
Integrated booking options for stays/transport.
Designed budget tool as supporting features.
Design Decision:
Built a discovery feature with curated attractions.
Integrated booking options for stays/transport.
Designed budget tool as supporting features.
36
36
What best describes your travel planning approach?
What best describes your travel planning approach?
How do you usually manage your budget while traveling?
How do you usually manage your budget while traveling?
What difficulties do you encounter while planning a trip?
What difficulties do you encounter while planning a trip?
Thinks
Thinks
I hope to have a smooth and efficient way of booking my trip.
I hope to have a smooth and efficient way of booking my trip.
I hope to have some way to stick to my budget.
I hope to have some way to stick to my budget.
I wish to see all the options I have, be it for travel, staying, or even deciding my itinerary.
I wish to see all the options I have, be it for travel, staying, or even deciding my itinerary.
Feels
Feels
Worried that there is no confirmation provided at the end of bookings.
Worried that there is no confirmation provided at the end of bookings.
Disappointed about not knowing the best local places to visit while on a trip.
Disappointed about not knowing the best local places to visit while on a trip.
Frustrated that he has to go through multiple sites just to find a good destination spot and itinerary for the same.
Frustrated that he has to go through multiple sites just to find a good destination spot and itinerary for the same.
Does
Does
Browse through various sites to find the perfect itinerary.
Browse through various sites to find the perfect itinerary.
Searches online to find the best deals on travel and stays.
Searches online to find the best deals on travel and stays.
Spend a lot of time researching the travel destination that fits exactly according to his needs.
Spend a lot of time researching the travel destination that fits exactly according to his needs.
Look on Reddit and various other sites for good food and travel place recommendations.
Look on Reddit and various other sites for good food and travel place recommendations.
Says
Says
I need to know the best time to visit that particular place.
I need to know the best time to visit that particular place.
I usually have a budget in mind but am not able to stick to it.
I usually have a budget in mind but am not able to stick to it.
Confirmation should be provided after booking travel or a stay.
Confirmation should be provided after booking travel or a stay.
When traveling with family, the trip is always pre-planned, but when with friends, the trip is spontaneous.
When traveling with family, the trip is always pre-planned, but when with friends, the trip is spontaneous.
Through market and user research, I uncovered the real pain points and the exact problem travelers face today.
Through market and user research, I uncovered the real pain points and the exact problem travelers face today.
Book Accommodation
Book Accommodation
Accommodation Details
Accommodation Details
Confirmation Page
Confirmation Page
Itinerary Page
Itinerary Page
Destination Details Page
Destination Details Page
Onboarding Page
Onboarding Page
Book Travel
Book Travel
Travel Details
Travel Details
Payment Page
Payment Page
Food Recommendations Page
Food Recommendations Page
Explore Destinations Page
Explore Destinations Page
Add Expense Page
Add Expense Page
Budget Tracker Page
Budget Tracker Page
Saved Destinations Page
Saved Destinations Page
A confirmation page was introduced to allow users to review and verify their details before completing payment.
A confirmation page was introduced to allow users to review and verify their details before completing payment.
Duplicate data that had already been collected during onboarding.
Duplicate data that had already been collected during onboarding.
Users lacked an option to download and save their itinerary for offline use.
Users lacked an option to download and save their itinerary for offline use.
The ‘More’ button lacked clarity for users.
The ‘More’ button lacked clarity for users.
Reflection
Reflection
Working on Trip Easy helped me strengthen my design thinking right from identifying gaps to validating real user needs. This project reminded me that what feels simple while designing can easily overwhelm the user user trying to make decisions.
Working on Trip Easy helped me strengthen my design thinking right from identifying gaps to validating real user needs. This project reminded me that what feels simple while designing can easily overwhelm the user user trying to make decisions.
Name
Name
Itinerary
Customization
Itinerary
Customization
Travel Suggestions
Travel Suggestions
Budget Tracking
Budget Tracking
Categorization of Vacation
Categorization of Vacation
Local
Recommendations
Local
Recommendations
WanderLog
WanderLog
Trip Advisor
Trip Advisor
Traveleva
Traveleva
Readability
Readability
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Easy navigation and glanceable summaries.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Provide suggestions to hidden gems.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer real-time budget updates.
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Offer rich categories (adventure, relaxation, cultural).
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Provide suggestions based on trip type.
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Opportunity for
Trip Easy
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.
Drag-and-drop customization with day-wise planning.